Territory (51 page)

‘All right, just a little one.'

‘That's my girl.'

The secretary arrived with the pot of coffee and three cups as Terence eased the cork out of the vintage Krug. ‘Just pour the one, thank you, Dora,' he said, and when she'd gone he tapped his Scotch glass against Lisa's champagne flute. ‘Cheers,' he said.

‘Am I the only one having champagne? Oh, you shouldn't have opened the bottle for me.'

‘If you don't finish it, my dear, then we'll simply throw it out.'

Christ he was laying it on thick, Kit thought.

Lisa sipped at her champagne, it tasted different to the bubbly she normally drank, she was sure it was the real stuff.

‘It's all thanks to television,' Terence announced as he sat behind his desk.

Lisa looked at him blankly. What was?

‘He means the boom in the market,' Kit explained.

‘Exactly.' Terence resisted the urge to scowl, he'd been waiting for the girl's enquiry and Kit had stolen his moment of triumph. But he curbed his irritation. ‘Television advertising most certainly changed the face of the marketplace …' It was true, since the arrival of television in Darwin two years previously Terence's profits had doubled. ‘… but everyone's on the bandwagon now, you have to be innovative. And that's exactly what we're doing. I haven't told you yet have I, Kit?' He grinned excitedly at his son.

Told him what, Kit wondered. He hadn't seen his father this enthusiastic in years. He was about to enquire, but Terence continued, once again directing his attention to Lisa.

‘We'll be launching a whole new campaign next month,' he said. ‘A campaign based on personality. You see it's not just the products one needs to sell. It's the face of the person who sells the products.' He was directly quoting the advertising specialists he'd employed. ‘Who instills you with trust? Who do you want to do business with? Who do you like and respect the most?'

He was firing the questions directly at her and Lisa wondered whether she was expected to come up with the answers. Fortunately not.

‘It's all a matter of image!' he triumphantly pronounced.

Terence's excitement was genuine. He'd flown a top advertising team up from Sydney a month previously and they were already filming the first batch of commercials to go to air in time for the November sales and the Christmas market. Terence Galloway, the face of Galloway Motors and Emporium. The prospect of television fame excited Terence as much as did the advertising expert's guarantee of a massive boost in sales.

‘The image of the person you trust!' He rose from his desk and crossed to the bar.

‘So will you be on television yourself, Mr Galloway?' Lisa asked. She was terribly impressed.

‘Terence, my dear, please.'

Lisa momentarily pictured herself out with Janice. They'd bump into Mr Galloway and she'd introduce him. ‘Janice, this is Mr Galloway.' Then she'd say, ‘How are you, Terence?' She could just see the look on Janice's face.

‘Yes, I shall most certainly be on television,' he said as he topped up her glass. ‘What do you think, Kit?' He turned to his son, arms theatrically outstretched, Krug bottle in hand. ‘Terence Galloway! The face of Galloway Motors and Emporium.'

Kit laughed, it was good to see his father in such a jovial mood. ‘So that's why you've bunged on the new hairdo,' he said. His father's thick grey hair was elegantly styled
and Kit was sure it was a touch more silver in hue than when he'd last seen him. ‘You look like an elder statesman.'

Terence was aware it wasn't altogether meant as a compliment, but the image of elder statesman pleased him so he took it as one. Lisa obviously agreed.

‘Yes, you look very distinguished,' she said. She wanted to add ‘Terence', but she couldn't quite muster the courage.

‘Thank you, my dear.'

Terence gave a mock bow and Lisa returned him one of her most radiant smiles.

There was something special in her smile and the way she looked at him, Terence thought. He was sure that she found him attractive. God she was a looker. Then it occurred to him. Of course! She'd be perfect!

Greg Sharman, the advertising guru of Ogylvie and Mather, had suggested that they include a young person‘s face in the campaign in order to appeal to the younger market. ‘Not for Galloway Motors,' he'd said, ‘but for the Emporium commercials.' Something in Terence's eyes had caused him to hastily add, ‘in a very secondary role of course, say as your assistant or something.' Then the perfect solution had occurred to him. ‘I've got it! What about your son?'

It had gone down like a lead balloon. ‘My son has no interest in the business,' Terence had icily replied. ‘It's why I changed the name.' Which wasn't altogether true. ‘Galloway and Sons' had become ‘Galloway Motors and Emporium' following Malcolm's death.

Terence had eventually seen Greg's point, however, and they'd decided upon a female image. ‘A bit of sex appeal never goes astray,' they'd jointly agreed.

And young Lisa Langello certainly had sex appeal, Terence thought as his eyes strayed to her breasts, then her legs.

Lisa's smile froze, she was starting to feel embarrassed. Mr Galloway was looking her up and down. She hoped he didn't fancy her. Not that he wasn't a handsome man in his own way, but he had to be in his fifties, and she wasn't attracted to old men.

‘Forgive me for staring, my dear,' Terence said, aware that she'd caught him looking at her breasts, but he wasn't in the least embarrassed, he'd had every legitimate reason. He returned the champagne bottle to the bar refrigerator and sat once again behind his desk. ‘You're an extremely attractive young woman,' he said, continuing his study of her.

Oh my God, Lisa thought, he
does
fancy me.

Kit too was aware that his father was ogling Lisa. ‘Time to go,' he said as he rose from his chair. Bloody old perve, he thought, he could at least have been a little more subtle.

‘Sit down, Kit, I have a proposition for Lisa.' Kit remained standing. ‘Would you be interested in testing for our commercials, my dear?'

Lisa stared back dumbly. Had she heard right? Was he joking?

‘We're looking for a young woman to incorporate in the campaign, in order to appeal to the younger market. The director is currently holding auditions.'

He wasn't joking. Lisa was breathless.

‘I could arrange a test for you, if you're interested.'

‘You're joking,' Kit said. ‘Lisa isn't an actress.'

‘I'd be very interested, Mr Galloway …' Shut up Kit, she thought. ‘… Terence.' There, she'd said it.

‘Excellent.' Terence took a business card from the top drawer of his desk and scribbled a telephone number on it. ‘It's not actresses we're looking for, Kit,' he said as he circled the desk. ‘Just the right image. Besides,' he added as he held out the card, ‘I'm sure Lisa has a natural talent. That's the director, my dear, Greg Sharman, I'll tell him to expect your call.'

Lisa took the card. ‘Thank you.' She gave him another of her radiant smiles. Yes, he thought, she certainly found him attractive. ‘How exciting,' she said.

Terence insisted that they drink a toast, and poured champagne all round.

‘She hasn't got the job yet,' Kit said, ‘doesn't she have to see the director?'

‘I've no doubt Greg'll cast her,' Terence said. He'd make sure that Greg did. ‘Cheers.'

It was ridiculous, Kit thought as he joined in the toast. The whole situation was bizarre.

He didn't find it so bizarre when, barely a month later, the commercials went to air and Lisa became an overnight star.

Terence had paid a fortune, the ads saturated NTD8's prime-time viewing slots. When the Northern Territory tuned into ‘Happy Days' or ‘Number 96', or any of the other top-rating programmes, there they were, Terence Galloway and Lisa Langello. The two of them were suddenly household names. Well, Terence was. Terence Galloway was the impressive pillar of society in whom one could place one's trust. The girl who said ‘come in and see us some time' remained simply ‘the girl from the Emporium', but Lisa was stopped in the street wherever she went.

She'd had to take a couple of ‘sickies' to shoot the ads, and she'd sworn Kit to secrecy.

‘Don't you dare tell,' she'd said, ‘it might get me the sack.'

Of course he wouldn't, he promised. The whole thing was utterly ridiculous, he thought, as he had from the outset. His father was being shockingly irresponsible, jeopardising Lisa's job and encouraging her fantasies. He tried to tell her as much but she refused to listen.

A fortnight after the ads had gone to air, Lisa announced that she was handing in her resignation. She was going to work for the Galloway Emporium, she told Kit.

‘Your father's offering me twice what I get at
NTN
,' she said, ‘and all I have to do is greet people at the door.' It appeared there had been a huge enquiry. ‘Where's the girl from the Emporium?' customers had been asking.

Kit was forced to admit his mistake. Yes, he agreed, his father had opened up a whole new career for her.

‘And he's making another series of commercials in the new year,' she said, ‘isn't it wonderful, Kit, I'm the Emporium girl.'

‘Yes,' Kit said, ‘it's wonderful.' Something didn't seem right, he thought.

Terence held a large Christmas party at the house in Larrakeyah and told Kit to invite his friends from
NTN
.

‘Make sure you ask Jim Bowditch,' he said. ‘He's a good bloke, Jim.' And a very handy man to have on side, Terence thought.

There were approximately twenty people present from both Galloway Motors and the Emporium. Only those at executive level, Terence having already thrown the obligatory staff parties where he'd made a brief appearance and given a stirring speech on team effort and morale. The other forty invited guests were prominent citizens, including the mayor, Harold Brennan, and the elite of Darwin's businessmen and their wives.

Kit and Lisa arrived in his brand new car, or rather his brand new second-hand Kingswood which he parked alongside the Mercedes and Jaguars.

Lisa was in her element. The house was as grand as she'd expected it to be. A string quartet played on the first-floor balcony welcoming guests as they walked through the floodlit garden and up the stairs. Waiters in dinner suits glided about everywhere with trays of real champagne—she'd lately developed a taste for Krug Vintage—and two Filipino housemaids darted here and there clearing ashtrays and providing fresh ones before they were even needed. Lisa was overwhelmed by the fact that
the upper echelons of Darwin whom she'd never met appeared to know her. ‘Hello, you're the girl from the Emporium,' they said. She mingled with as many distinguished guests as she could and barely saw Kit all night.

Kit stood with Nick Coustas and Maxie Brummer at the huge buffet table which the caterers had set up in the first-floor lounge room, the dining room having been given over to the serving of desserts and coffee. Nick was filling his plate for the third time. The food was superb and, as fast as it disappeared, fresh platters arrived. Kit picked at his plate of seafood and looked out to the balcony where Lisa was in animated discussion with Nick Paspaley's wife. Well, Lisa was in animated discussion, it looked rather as if Mrs Paspaley was seeking an escape. Lisa was already a bit pissed, he thought, he'd better take her home early. Not that he minded, he was already finding the evening a bit wearisome.

An hour or so later, he went in search of her, to find her standing alone in the small, rear sitting room, bleary-eyed and distinctly unsteady on her feet.

Lisa was lost. She'd been after the bathroom. She'd been there earlier in the evening, she was sure it had been in this direction but she'd taken a wrong turn. Suddenly Kit was by her side.

‘Time to go, love, what do you reckon?' He put an affectionate arm around her, more to prop her up than anything, but she pushed him away.

‘Don't be silly, Kit.' She smiled brightly, her eyes glassy and wide in an effort to prove she wasn't drunk. He thought she was pissed, she could tell. Well, she wasn't. Perhaps a little bit tiddly, but then everyone was.

‘The night is young,' she said. It was one of Janice's favourite sayings. She wished Janice was here. She'd thought of asking Terence if she could invite her friend Janice, but she hadn't quite found the nerve. Although she now called him Terence with ease, and even flirted a little
as they drank champagne in the boardroom on Fridays, Lisa was still very much in awe of Terence Galloway.

‘Come on, love, you've had enough.' Kit put his arm around her again, but once more she pushed him away, roughly this time, nearly losing her balance as she did so.

‘Leave me alone,' she said, her voice suddenly shrill.

A couple passing by the open door looked in their direction. Bugger it, Kit thought, she was going to make a scene.

Lisa pulled herself together, aware that she'd been a little too loud. ‘I'm looking for the bathroom,' she said with a dignity verging on the comical as her ankle strap shoes threatened to give way under her, ‘I seem to have lost it.'

Then she heard a kindly female voice say, ‘I'm after the bathroom too, shall we go together?' Aggie Marshall had come into the sitting room to call for a taxi.

‘Yes,' Lisa said. She allowed Aggie to take her by the hand and they went off to the bathroom together, arm in arm, the way she and Janice always did. ‘I don't like being bossed about,' she said loudly to Aggie for Kit's benefit.

‘Of course you don't, dear, nobody does.'

How funny, Lisa thought, she hadn't particularly liked old Aggie Marshall. Mainly because she'd thought Aggie didn't like her. But Aggie was really very nice.